BOOSTER BASH TICKETS ARE NOW ON SALE! Join us for the “Bubbly Booster Bash”, SATURDAY, MAY 6TH, for a fabulous night raising funds for our student athletes. Click here to buy tickets at the Early Bird Rate. Reserve your tickets today because space is limited. Rates go up April 1st. If you have any questions, please email annaeppinger@yahoo.com or contact one of the Booster Bash Tri-Chairs (Anna Eppinger, Paula Carter and Tina Frechman).

Don’t miss out on the biggest party and fundraiser of the year – The 2016 Booster Bash – SHINE BRIGHT LIKE A DIAMOND.

Ticket sales for SHINE BRIGHT LIKE A DIAMOND will close on Tuesday May 3rd! This event will sell out! Purchase your individual tickets now on the Acalanes Web Store.
· Only (4) VIP Tables are left to purchase

SHINE BRIGHT LIKE A DIAMOND will take place on Saturday May 7th, 6:30pm – 11:00PM at Temple Isaiah.

Support our student athletes during this always fun and festive evening. The Booster Bash is the only Acalanes athletics fundraiser of the year! Enjoy cocktails, appetizers, and light entrees while bidding in the silent and live auctions followed by music and dancing! Mother’s Day is on May 8th. SHINE BRIGHT LIKE A DIAMOND is the ideal event to purchase an exciting and special gift for momma.

PARTIES! PARTIES! PARTIES!
There are plenty parties to sign-up for this year…but spaces are limited. Take a look at some of unique social events that you can sign-up for. Don’t miss out.

Please come and show your support for the Acalanes Athletics Program at The 2016 Booster Bash Gala which will celebrate 75 years of Acalanes athletics. You will enjoy Hors d’oeuvres, desserts, no host bars, party games, silent and live auctions, unique sign-up parties, the Acalanes Boosters 2015-16 raffle prize drawings and dancing. Please mark your calendars for this always fun event.

If your child participates in Acalanes Athletics or you just love Acalanes High School, this is a party you shouldn’t miss. Come and SHINE BRIGHT LIKE A DIAMOND on Saturday May 7th with the rest of your Acalanes community.

If you have any questions, please contact Jill McTaggart at jill_mctaggart@yahoo.com or Robert McKendell at rmckende@yahoo.com

If you haven’t already done so, please invite your new team parents and student athletes to subscribe to the Boosters Daily Digest (top right column of www.acalanesboosters.com)
and like our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/acalanesboosters.
Want Acalanes Sports news as it breaks? Subscribe to our Twitter feed at @acalanesbooster

Choose your favorite photos and get 25, 50, or 100 photo greeting cards with your child’s sports photo from a professional photo lab for about a buck each (compared to 70 cents each at Costco).
Select a photo, then click on Buy Photo, and crop to fit. Downloads and individual prints are always available, or choose “Create a Card” to personalize your seasonal greeting cards.

This is the last daily digest going out on Feedburner. If you are receiving two daily emails, or just one daily email from MailChimp, no action is necessary.
If only one email comes daily from Feedburner, please subscribe to MailChimp by visiting www.acalanesboosters.com.

It’s hard to believe it’s time to think about “Back to School”. Online registration starts on Monday, August 6th and we’d like to remind you to renew and/or signup for a BOOSTERS MEMBERSHIP when completing your on-line registration. Please remember to pick-up your sports passes at Dons’ Day on August 19th!

Your annual Boosters Membership funds Acalanes Athletics for ALL 22 sports and Cheer, which includes over 1100 Acalanes athletes. Since More AHS sporting events now require admission fees, your Booster Membership sports passes are more valuable than ever, allowing FREE admission into any regular season home sporting event for the ’14 – ’15 school year!

In addition to funding all AHS sports, Boosters membership provides the entire funding for our Athletic Trainer and necessary supplies, our high quality team equipment and other important items for all teams.

Boosters membership helps ensure the health and safety of our student athletes, and lessens the financial burden to individual families.

Membership levels are as follows:

Super Don Membership:

Sports Passes for 4 adults (great for grandparents!) + up to 8 children (under high school age) valid for all regular season sporting events at Acalanes.

Sports Pass for 2 adults + 4 children (under high school age) to all regular season sporting events at Acalanes.

One (1) Sports Decal Triangle of your choice

$150

Club Membership:

Sports Pass for 1 adult+ 2 children (under high school age) to all regular season sporting events at Acalanes.

$95

Grandparent Special:Suggested donation of $50 for every student participating in a sport. For every $50 donation, you will get an adult pass to ALL regular season sporting events at Acalanes (grandparents only)

The Girl Scout Gold Award represents the highest achievement in scouting, recognizing girls who demonstrate extraordinary leadership through remarkable “Take Action” projects that have a sustainable impact on their communities.

In a leadership group last year at Acalanes, Caroline became involved in the school’s Healthy Choices Board that helps organize, among other things, an annual blood drive.

“After donating blood for the first time last year, I learned that about one in seven people entering a hospital need blood,” Caroline said. “Nearly 60 percent of the population is eligible to donate blood, but less than 5 percent actually donates.”

“In my conversations with medical professionals from the Blood Centers of the Pacific,I learned that once people donate they are likely to become lifelong donors. Several of the reasons people do not donate include little opportunity, fear and lack of understanding of the need for blood,” she said.

“With this new insight and an interest to help, I decided to develop a plan to build awareness for the need to donate blood, as well as to communicate the simplicity of actually donating.”

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., – USTA Serves, the national charitable foundation of the United States Tennis Association, announced today that two local high school students were awarded either an $8,000 College Educational Scholarship or a $1,000 College Textbook Scholarship. The Foundation has granted 49 high school students a variety of college scholarships this spring, totaling $330,000.

The honorees were selected from applicants throughout the country on the basis of their commitment to academic success, to their local community and to their participation in tennis. An objective of USTA Serves is to encourage America’s youth to pursue their goals and highest dreams by succeeding in school and becoming responsible citizens.

USTA Serves awards the College Educational Scholarship annually to high school seniors who have excelled academically, demonstrated community service and participated in an organized tennis program. The $8,000 scholarship will be awarded over four years to students entering a two or four-year college or university. The year’s recipient selected among the scholarship winners from across the nation is Kyle Schmidt of Kelseyville, Calif.

USTA Servesestablished a College Textbook Scholarship which provides a one-time award of $1,000 to assist students in purchasing textbooks or supplies. This year’s recipient is Daniel Cardiff of Lafayette, Calif.

“USTA Serves is proud to award these students for their academic achievements and tennis success,” said Dan Faber, USTA Serves Executive Director. “It is exciting to know that with these scholarships, they can continue to prosper. We commend them for their efforts and wish them a future filled with greatness on and off the court.”

Fantastic news! We are very excited to bring you our official “Gift Matching” web page on our http://acalanesboosters.com/ web site. The employee Matching Gift Program could easily be one of the year’s largest fundraising efforts for the Acalanes Boosters’ Club. ANYONE who donated to the ABC this year could request matching gift funds from their employers. Please take a minute to check if your employer has a Matching Gift Program. We have hundreds of ABC donators who can potentially raise funds through this program.

Let’s try to collect as much FREE money as we can for our student athletes. They deserve it! This is time-sensitive and the cut off for requests is upon us, either Dec. 31, or Jan. 31, 2014. for fiscal year 2013.

Participating employers will have one or two+ donor programs:

1. Employers will match 1:1 eligible dollars donated.

2. Employers will provide a volunteer grant ie. $500 for volunteer hours per their guidelines.

For example, I have already contacted my employer and the ABC will receive $350 matching dollars for my donations, AND another $500 volunteer grant for meeting their criteria of 20-30 volunteer hours/calendar year. $850 FREE dollars to the ABC. WOW! We have already received a few more matching gift donations this year as well.

Below are some easy instructions to follow. If for any reason you are having difficulty with your submission, please feel free to contact me or your employer. Mary Piscitelli 765-0457, I will be happy to help you.

A. What is the proposed process? It is very simple and will take just a few minutes. (Time well spent!)

Go to the “acalanesboostersclub.com” web site.

Click on the last tab ‘Gift Matching”, and it will bring you directly to the “Double the Donations” link and type in your company name.

See if your employer will match your donation!

Enter your company name ____________________________________________________

:

B. If your employer participates, all their contact information will appear as well as any pertinent links to their company specific guidelines and submission forms etc. If your company is not registered, I encourage you to call your HR department and inquire with them, sometimes it’s not publicized.

C. Some employers will allow you to submit your request electronically, by e-mail, regular mail, &/or fax. If your company has a secured web or e-mail, you will need your employee number and perhaps a password if you haven’t set it up already. IF YOU DO NOT KNOW THIS INFORMATION, OR GET FRUSTRATED, PLEASE DO NOT GIVE UP! Call them directly for assistance. They are very willing and happy to help guide you through the process.

D. Send Brad and I an e-mail with a brief explanation of your donations &/or hours volunteered for that calendar year and we will confirm your qualifying donations when your employer contacts us. If you need a receipt, we can provide that as well.

E. Provide your company with;

-Your employee information
-Dollar amount you donated and are requesting a match for &/or number of hours volunteered. Your donation was to the Acalanes Boosters’ Club
-ABC receipt, IF requested by the company. (We can provide you with an ABC receipt)
-Contact information for our ABC rep. Brad Smith / or Mary Piscitelli
-ABC Tax ID # 23-7428299, and school address 1200 Pleasant Hill Rd.
All the information you will need is listed on the web page for you.

Most companies already have the Acalanes Boosters Club information in their system. Our Not-for-Profit Federal Tax ID# is nationally recognized. Once the employer verifies the request, a check will be mailed directly to the ABC. The checks are cut either monthly or quarterly according to their protocol.

What if you still have questions?

For questions regarding your company’s programs, please contact your employer’s HR or community giving department. They are very helpful. Most of the necessary information is also available on your company intranet.

You get a 10% discount,
and 10% of your purchase is donated to the Boosters
at no cost to you.

December 11 6:30-8:30PM

Thursday, Dec. 13th, ALL DAY“Happy Hour” food and drink 4pm-7pm
Looking for gifts for the outdoorsy-active-gym-snow lover?
Sports Basement is offering 10% off to Acalanes families with an additional 10% going back to Boosters!
Just say: “Acalanes” at the register!
Toms, Uggs, Nike, Northface, Columbia, and MORE!
Tis the Season!

The Acalanes Men’s water polo team has had a rollercoaster of season, which took a turn for the worse last Wednesday October 17, as the Dons faced off against their cross-town rivals the Campolindo Cougars. Traditionally, the Dons have overcome the Cougars without much of a challenge, defeating them in last year’s NCS quarterfinals by a ten-goal difference. Unfortunately for the Dons, however, history did not repeat itself, and the Cougars came out claws bared, jumping to a three-goal lead at the half. Late in the fourth quarter, after lying dormant for the majority of the game, the Dons offense had a sudden revival, sparked by seniors Jacob Welcomer and Connor Reid. The Dons managed to slim the score margin from five goals to one, but weren’t able to capitalize on their final offensive possession and the game ended with a final score of 13-12. This loss puts the Dons at a 2-2 record in the DFAL (Diablo Foothill Athletic League), and leaves them scrambling for a shot at an NCS playoff berth, something that is no longer a guarantee for the team. The Dons will go up against the Las Lomas Knights next week in the final round of DFAL play, and are hoping to end league play on a high note and gain some momentum heading into the final weeks of the season.

Dons are Quick out of the Gate and Gaining Momentum Towards a Promising Season

The Acalanes’ Cross Country team had an outstanding performance on September 8th in their second meet of the year. The runners competed in a two-mile course at the Ed Sias Invitational Meet at Hidden Valley Park in Martinez.

Out of 24 schools, Acalanes boy’s varsity took first place. All seven runners placed in the top third out of 185 people in total, and combined for a team score of 57.

“[It was] one of the best team times we have had” said coach Tad Beach shortly after the school rankings were posted.

One of the team strategies was to “stick together and run in clusters” said Junior Alec Weber. The runners are stronger as a group and by running side by side, all the runners can try and keep a similar pace to the fastest runner on the team.

Another successful strategy was to have all the students that are not running “line up on the sides and even on the further parts [of the course] to cheer on each individual runner from our school” said junior Jeremy Edwards. Supporting the runners in this manner often times gives them the energy to finish strong.

Two outstanding performances were by junior Michael Wang and senior Adler Faulkner, who both broke the previous school record for the course. As of last year, Tyler Troxel held the school record for the best time at the course. However, at this meet, Adler broke the previous record by 8.2 seconds and Michael broke the previous record by 17.3 seconds. Michael Wang’s time, at 10:19.8, is now the school record.

Another notable performance was by freshman Cameron Gaskell, “who is our freshman sensation” said Alec Weber. Cameron Gaskell placed first in the Frosh Boy’s Race.

The girls varsity team also had a strong performance, coming in 4th place overall with a team score of 164. Out of 150 runners, senior Kelly Collins placed 4th and Amy Hollshwandner placed 9th .

After such an impressive start, it is clear that Acalanes cross country has an exciting season to look forward to and great chance at future success.

Dons New Offense Scores Big in 54-7 victoryThe Acalanes Dons varsity football team rolls over the Irvington Vikings in an impressive display of their newly adopted offensive strategy. The Dons started early, capitalizing on their first drive when junior Peter Mitchell pounded the ball into the end zone. After a quick defensive stop the Dons went back to work. A deep pass from junior quarterback Robbie Stern to senior Stephen Main put the Dons right back in the red zone. Senior Deshawn Johnson blasted in another touchdown, putting the Dons up 14-0. The Dons defense kept up the pressure as senior Aaron Edwards intercepted an Irvington pass. Johnson took it back into the endzone for a score but the Dons were called back for a penalty. Despite the setback, the Dons offense was unstoppable as Mitchell took the ball in for yet another a touchdown the next play. A big part of the Don’s success was their ability to keep he pressure on defensively, and next thing you know Tyler Supple scooped up an Irvington fumble. The Dons were dominating 28-0, but a long, slow Irvington drive resulted in a touchdown. With less than a minute left in the second quarter it appeared the half would end 28-7, but the Dons were not content. On the kickoff Mitchell out ran the entire Irvington team sending the Dons into halftime with a 35-7 lead.

The Dons went at it again in the second half making many defensive stops and running up the score to 47-7. They continued to pick apart the Irvington defense as senior Cj Ibara ran the ball in for another score. The Dons held strong on defense even as the second and third string players were put in the game. The Dons finished the game winning 54-7, which will move their record to 3-0. The Dons are on a roll and plan to carry over their success into their next matchup against Tennyson.

The Dons entered the North Coast Section (NCS) semifinals against DFAL rival and league champion, Miramonte, looking to make there second straight NCS championship. Unfortunately Acalanes fell short in an intense, back and forth game, 6-5.

Just two and a half years after she picked up her first putter, SophomoreElizabethSchultz has won the 2011 DFAL Championship. On October 17, Schultz shot a 75, 8 strokes ahead of the second place finisher. Schultz was also named the DFAL’s most valuable golfer for this year. She now turns her focus to the NCS and state tournaments. We had a chance to interview Schultz about her success thus far this season and her goals for the future.

This past Wednesday, (October 12), the Lady Dons water polo team, squared off against their DFAL league rivals, the Campolindo Cougars.
The Lady Dons have already faced the Cougars once this season, in the semifinals of the Acalanes Invitational. Although the Dons fought valiantly, they were unable to defeat the cougars in the Invitational. Despite some questionable reffing, and the absence of a key player, Barbara Lanier, the Lady Dons were clearly outplayed and lost 9-4. (more…)

League rival, Campolindo came into Dons territory. After a close first quarter the Cougars took the lead, and never looked back.
Both teams played a good first quarter, but then at the beginning of the second quarter Campolindo scored a touchdown. Then after Acalanes failure to execute, the Cougars scored two more touchdowns before the end of the first half.

On September 30th, the Acalanes Dons played their first in league game against the Miramonte Matadors. They suffered a disappointing loss of 24-14, after trying to come back from a two game losing streak.

The Matadors started the game off strong by forcing the Dons to punt, and then capitalized on a Dons missed field goal with a field goal of their own. Acalanes retaliated with a huge 50 yard run from senior Carson Gardner, who punched it in the next play to give the Dons a 6-3 lead. After an interception by Gardner, the Dons took that 6-3 lead and all the momentum into half time.

It was a whole different game in the second half though. Miramonte started off the second half with a touchdown, and then minutes later they scored again, taking the lead 17-6. Gardner scored his second touchdown of the night, and the ensuing two point attempt was successful.

Just as it appeared the Dons might be taking some momentum back, Miramonte scored a touchdown, making the score 24-14. The Dons fallowed with a promising possession, but an interception thrown by senior Spencer Henderson deflated the Dons for the rest of the game

The Matadors proceeded to run out the clock, and win the game 24-14. With the loss the Dons fll to 2-3 (0-1), but look to come back next week with a victory over another league rival, the Campolindo Cougars (5-0, 1-0).

Acalanes hosted the annual Acalanes Invitational women’s Water Polo tournament on September 9 and 10th. The tournament featured an array of teams representing multiple athletic leagues and both the North Coast and Central Coast sections.

The Lady Dons drew a large crowd for their first game of the tournament which, for the first time ever, was held during lunch. Acalanes handled the game of the tournament with relative ease as the team defeated Foothill High School 16-3 .

Dons Football Pulls Off Close Victory Over Titans. Acalanes 28-21 over Skyline.

The Acalanes Dons pulled out a close win Friday, September 9th, over the Skyline Titans. After a slow first half and an intimidating lightning storm, Acalanes took over the second half on their way to a 28-21 victory in their first home game of the season.

The Acalanes Dons 2011 football season began with a bang on Saturday night, September 3, easily handling the Ygnacio Valley Warriors 49-0. The Dons quickly gained momentum at the start of the game and never looked back.

Only a minute into the game, the Dons forced and recovered a fumble that set them up on their own 9 yard line. About a minute later, junior running back Aaron Edwards ran in the the ball for a touchdown giving the Dons the early lead. Senior Carson Gardner added another touchdown, rushing 21 yards for the score and giving the Dons a 14-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.